Tesco has announced that its UK CEO, Matthew Barnes, has stepped down from his role to pursue other opportunities.
Barnes will be replaced by Ashwin Prasad, Tesco Group’s current chief commercial officer, effective from 30th June. Tesco Ireland & NI CEO Natasha Adams was also appointed to the newly created role of chief strategy and transformation officer, effective from 9th June.
The retailer stated that following Barnes’ appointment as UK CEO in March 2024, its UK business had performed “extremely well”.
“Matthew leaves with our respect and sincere thanks for his contribution.”
Group CEO of Tesco, Ken Murphy, said: “We are winning in the intensely competitive markets we serve and making strong progress delivering our strategic ambitions. The changes to our executive team, which draw on strong internal talent, will set us up to continue delivering a market-leading performance.
“Matthew leaves with our respect and sincere thanks for his contribution. Under his leadership, our business has gone from strength to strength. His obsession with customers has made a big impact and we are winning in the market by offering customers unbeatable value. We wish him the very best in his next chapter.
“Ashwin is an exceptional leader with a strong track record for delivering for our customers. His experience leading our product and customer strategy makes him the ideal person to take over as UK CEO.
“Our strategy focuses on being brilliant at the basics whilst stepping forward on big strategic initiatives – by becoming increasingly digital and delivering more personalised customer engagement, through new growth avenues such as Marketplace, and by further developing leading capabilities such as retail media.
“We are pleased to be making strong progress against our growth ambitions, and the newly created role of chief strategy and transformation officer will set us up even better to continue winning in the future. I am delighted to appoint Natasha, one of our most experienced and capable leaders, into this role.”
Tesco makes new executive appointments
Ashwin Prasad, incoming Tesco UK CEO, said: “I pick up the reins of a business with strong momentum, a winning strategy and a talented team. I am privileged to be appointed UK CEO and my priority will be to continue offering our customers an unbeatable experience, every time they shop with Tesco. I would also like to thank Matthew for his support and wish him well for the future.”
Natasha Adams, incoming chief strategy and transformation officer at Tesco, said: “I am excited to take up this new role, which builds on the strong progress we’re making with our growth ambitions by helping us to further scale and accelerate our long-term strategic plans and innovation pipeline.”
